Development on cover design

After putting my magazine together,  the contents page and double page spread with my cover, I felt like my cover had too much white. I also read through some of my earlier notes in media about front covers, and not making the background white as it looks less planned out and professional.  So I knew that I could not add anything to my front page, as it would pack everything together and make it look cluttered, so I thought about changing the colour of the background slightly to a light grey.

I tried a few different samples and surveyed 5 of my friends to see which one they preferred.

4 out of 5 of the people I asked said the top left sample, as they said the darker grey didn't suit the colour theme,  and the top left was only a very light grey.
I agree with them as I think that the offset white shows a little colour in the background, without distracting away from the rest of the page. Looking back now I think that the white background was too bright.  I will use the top left design in my magazine.